These PMM tricks are provided as-is to me by the software team. I know nothing about them.

Using the PMM library view to browse your DMS.

This is a bit of a hack, but if you REALLY want to browse your music using the library view of the PMM, it is possible. There are some non-obvious things you need to do to make sure that everything will work correctly.

As always, this method is unsupported. Don't contact customer service if you screw it up.

How to use the PMM to browse your DMS:

  1. Backup your old PMM database.
    Just rename the "data" subdirectory of your install (usually "C:\Program Files\PhatNoise Music Manager\Data\") to something like "data.real" (so the directory is now "C:\Program Files\PhatNoise Music Manager\Data.real\"). This effectively wipes out your old DB. The next time the PMM starts, it will see there's no db, so it will ask you to load songs.
  2. Load your DMS
    Insert your DMS. In the load songs dlg, press "Browse" and choose the PHTDTA drive. Uncheck the box marked "m3u" (DMS m3u files will just confuse the PMM, since they are formatted for the PhatBox). Be prepared to wait a long time - it will load the tags of ALL the music files on your DMS. Over USB, that could be a while.
  3. Load your DMS in the Device View
    Press Device, and choose the "PhatNoise DMS" device. When it's done loading, you can use the PMM to edit the tags of files on the DMS. If you don't load the DMS device view, any file tags you change WILL NOT be updated in your SSA/DMS database!
  4. Browse/Play/Edit
    Go ahead and browse your music via the library view. I find it very useful to correct tags. You can also rclick the "All Songs" item, and get statistics to impress your friends.
  5. Save/Eject from the Device View
    Don't forget to Save/Eject from the PMM, or your tag DB won't pick up all the changes you made!
  6. Restore your old PMM database
    After you've Save/Ejected your DMS, close the program. At this point, the DMS is no longer connected, so you don't want those files in your PMM database. Explore to your installation directory, and you'll see a new "data" subdirectory. This directory contains the PMM db of your DMS. Rename it to something like "data.DMS" to save it. Then rename or copy your old DB (which we stored as "data.real") back to "data". The next you start the PMM, it will now use your old database.
The next time you want to browse your DMS, simply swap the "data" directory with "data.DMS". This will save you the hassle of waiting for your songs to load. I would highly recommend that you keep your regular PMM db separate from the DMS PMM db, since the PMM doesn't do disconnected drives well.

Again, this method is unsupported. Don't contact customer service if you screw it up. If you find you have a messed up database, just delete that Data directory ("C:\Program Files\PhatNoise Music Manager\Data\") and rebuild your PMM database.

Happy browsing, and Happy PhatBoxing.